Duncan and Nate poured 2 chards, a syrah and 3 cabs. I focused on the chards and syrah which were part of my purchase. The cabs were wonderful but I took no notes on them as I wasn’t bringing any home. Great food paired with great wine fun people and nice music made for a memorable afternoon.
2010 Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Watson Ranch- USA, California, Napa Valley (4/9/2011)
Tasted at the Arnot-Roberts pick-up party. This limestone vineyard chard was the opposite of the rocky volcanic Matthiasson. Dark golden color. Big fruit driven nose and palate. Green apple, pear and a hint of peach. Nice texture and structure. Full mouthfeel with balancing acidity, minerality and juicy richness. Stainless steel fermentation and neutral French oak. Another very nice effort. (92 pts.)
2010 Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Matthiasson Family Vineyards- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (4/9/2011)
Tasted at the Arnot-Roberts pick-up party. Pale straw color with a mineral driven nose and palate. Soft fruit and high acidity. Really nice warm weather chard fermented in stainless steel and finished off in neutral French oak. Liked it so much I doubled my order. Very nice effort. (92 pts.)
2009 Arnot-Roberts Syrah North Coast- USA, California, North Coast (4/9/2011)
Big dark black/purple color in the glass. Meaty Griffins Lair nose, with some black pepper and black/blue fruits. Medium bodied with a juicy tartness to compliment the peppery spice and blackberry overtones. Tannins a little grippy but not to the point where I would say it needs a lot of bottle time. Drink or hold. (91 pts.)
I tasted Arnot-Roberts wines for the first time at the High Museum Wine Auction here in Atlanta a few weeks ago. Probably my favorite syrahs of the day. The 2008 Hudson was outstanding. Went out and bought the A-R wines I have been able to find locally. Really impressed.
I love Jenn and Nathan Roberts. They were great to come to Atlanta and very generous folks.
Nathan has a really nice sensibility as to what makes a balanced and refreshing wine.
I have only had the chards. I heard the syrahs were quite nice too. Gotta try them.
Don,
I believe you would love some of their syrahs. The 2007 “North Block” Hudson Vineyard was brilliant. Reminded me of a very good Cote-Rotie with an underlying fresh/clean California fruit profile. Certainly pretty, and understated. And the even cooler climate single vineyard syrahs are almost ethereal. BTW, couldn’t agree more about Nathan’s sensibility and generosity based on a visit there last summer.
Cheers,
Steve
2010 Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Matthiasson Family Vineyards- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley (4/18/2011)
I can’t remember ever having a chardonnay quite like this, and don’t remember having one that drank so smoothly so soon after release, especially immediately after the “pop”. Overall - excellent purity of fruit. Tropical fruit, minerality and some spice on the nose. More of the same on the palate, which is initially quite open, but closes down a bit on the finish as it gets more time in the glass, when more obvious acidity and some tannic tightness start to make an appearance. Along with this, a marine salty note that evokes thoughts of a day at the beach. As these components come forward, the wine starts to present more like a young wine, with individual components as opposed to the integrated package that was present on the first pour. A WAG on my part, but I would try to hold until 2013 to see these components integrate a bit further. Excellent wine, excellent value and exceptional purity. (93 pts.)
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